The surprise move triggered a rally on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with the Nikkei 225 rising almost 600 points at one stage, but then falling back sharply as investors contemplated the effects of the new measure. The yen weakened by as much as 2.2% against the dollar.

In a statement, the BOJ said it adopted the negative interest rate policy in order to achieve its price stability target of 2% at the earliest possible time, and signalled that it will “cut the interest rate further into negative territory if judged necessary.” The central bank had until now been paying an interest rate of 0.1% but in future will collect 0.1% from current account depositors.

The Japanese central bank opted to maintain its quantitative and qualitative easing program at its current level, buying assets at a rate of 80 trillion yen a year.

#日銀 TweetsThe Bank of Japan decided to adopt negative interest rates at its policy meeting on Friday, voting 5-4 to apply an interest rate of -0.1 percent on current accounts held at the central bank. At the same time, the BOJ revised its inflation forecast for fiscal 20ǰ down to 0.8% from a previous level of 1.4%. (Nikkei)Economic revitalization minister Akira Amari, who has been embroiled in a money-for-favors scandal, announced Thursday that he will resign. (the-japan-news.com)A prototype of the first Japan-made stealth fighter was unveiled to the media Thursday at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. factory in central Japan. (Japan Times)An H5-series Shinkansen train was put through its paces Jan. 28, two months before the start of the first high-speed rail service in Japan’s northernmost main island. (Asahi)A computer program developed by an artificial intelligence venture under Google Inc. has defeated a professional player of go, considered the most intricate board game, for the first time, according to a study published in the British science journal Nature on Wednesday. (Kyodo)US fighter jets and stealth fighter jets have been deployed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, since Monday. Local residents strongly oppose their presence because of the noise. (NHK)More than 70 years after striking fear into the hearts of Allied pilots, a restored Zero fighter took to the skies in southern Japan on Wednesday. (rawstory.com)Toyota Motor Corp. said Jan. ǻ that it sold 10.151 million vehicles in 2015, retaining its status as the world’s top-selling automaker for the fourth straight year. (Asahi)Following the announcement of a new album in the works, Radiohead has been confirmed as one of this year’s Summer Sonic headliners. (Japan Times)Japan is set to be home to the largest floating solar power plant in the world when construction is complete of an installation on the Yamakura Dam reservoir in Chiba Prefecture. (insidejapantours.com)

The train boasts a maximum speed of 260 kph, but kept to 210 kph during the test-ride because of snow on the tracks. It took 13 minutes to make the journey.

Although almost half of the route between the two stations passes through tunnels, the vast Tsugaru Strait that separates Hokkaido and the main island of Honshu comes into view as the train glides into Kikonai Station.

An H5-series Shinkansen train was put through its paces Jan. 28, two months before the start of the first high-speed rail service in Japan’s northernmost main island. (Asahi)The Japan Tourism Agency is hoping to reduce traffic congestion caused by a growing number of sightseeing buses taking tourists on shopping sprees. (Japan Times)Japan’s highest waterfall has frozen in the chilly weather. Called Nachinotaki, the waterfall in Wakayama Prefecture is 133 meters high. (NHK)A powerful cold air mass brought record amounts of snowfall to parts of Japan over the weekend. The storm caused accidents and paralyzed transportation. (NHK)Convenience store chain FamilyMart plans to install automatic foreign currency exchange machines in some of its stores in the Tokyo metropolitan area, starting Feb 1. (Japan Today)An incoming cold air mass is set to unleash stormy weather across Japan, with the western, southwestern and central parts of the country being warned to prepare for heavy snowfall and strong winds, the Meteorological Agency said Saturday. (Japan Times)Passenger and flight numbers at Narita International Airport scaled new heights in 2015, the airport’s operator announced on Jan. 21, providing further evidence of Japan’s continuing foreign tourism boom. (Asahi)A smart train pass only available for foreign tourists will allow short-stay visitors in the Kansai region to use services by various operators, and entitle them to special deals at tourist attractions and shopping facilities. (Asahi)Chinese tour groups can often be seen following guides clutching red flags in Japanese shopping districts, but organized tours may be losing their allure as travelers set out to go it alone. (Japan Times)Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto and its UNESCO World Heritage site temple, Kinkaku-ji, are covered in a blanket of snow. (NHK)

Amari had played a central role in drawing up the government’s growth strategy and helping Japan, the United States and 10 other nations reach a broad accord on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact.

His departure from the cabinet “will affect the government’s policy steering,” a senior Cabinet Office official warned.

The United States and other TPP member countries are also keeping a close eye on developments following Amari’s resignation.

Amari announced his intention to resign at a press conference on Thursday afternoon. Former Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara succeeded Amari later in the day.

#abenomics TweetsA 20-year-old member of a yakuza syndicate, who was arrested in Tokyo on Wednesday over the death of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son, is believed to have previously abused the boy, police said Thursday. (Japan Times)Economic revitalization minister Akira Amari, who has been embroiled in a money-for-favors scandal, announced Thursday that he will resign. (the-japan-news.com)A prototype of the first Japan-made stealth fighter was unveiled to the media Thursday at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. factory in central Japan. (Japan Times)Visiting Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko consoled Japanese-Filipinos who experienced the Pacific War, part of World War II, at their meeting at a hotel in Manila on Thursday. (Jiji Press)The resignation of Akira Amari as economic revitalization minister over a money scandal is expected to deal a serious blow to the implementation of the Abenomics economic policy of the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Jiji Press)An H5-series Shinkansen train was put through its paces Jan. 28, two months before the start of the first high-speed rail service in Japan’s northernmost main island. (Asahi)A computer program developed by an artificial intelligence venture under Google Inc. has defeated a professional player of go, considered the most intricate board game, for the first time, according to a study published in the British science journal Nature on Wednesday. (Kyodo)Osaka District Court skirted a constitutional judgment Thursday over a claim that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo in December 2013 violates the separation of religion and politics and the people’s right to live in peace. (Jiji Press)US fighter jets and stealth fighter jets have been deployed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, since Monday. Local residents strongly oppose their presence because of the noise. (NHK)A nonpartisan group of Japanese lawmakers is set to start working on legislation to eliminate discrimination against sexual minorities. (NHK)

A total of 34 people, including five Filipinos of Japanese descent and three spouses, and Japanese living in the Philippines, attended the meeting with the Imperial couple.

Among the five Japanese-Filipinos are Carlos Teraoka and Ines Mallari, former and current presidents, respectively, of the Federation of Nikkei Jin Kai Philippines, an association for Japanese descendants.

Emperor Akihito told Teraoka, 85, that he must have had a hard time during the war. In reply, Teraoka said that it could not be helped because it was wartime.

A 20-year-old member of a yakuza syndicate, who was arrested in Tokyo on Wednesday over the death of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son, is believed to have previously abused the boy, police said Thursday. (Japan Times)Economic revitalization minister Akira Amari, who has been embroiled in a money-for-favors scandal, announced Thursday that he will resign. (the-japan-news.com)A prototype of the first Japan-made stealth fighter was unveiled to the media Thursday at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. factory in central Japan. (Japan Times)Visiting Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko consoled Japanese-Filipinos who experienced the Pacific War, part of World War II, at their meeting at a hotel in Manila on Thursday. (Jiji Press)The resignation of Akira Amari as economic revitalization minister over a money scandal is expected to deal a serious blow to the implementation of the Abenomics economic policy of the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Jiji Press)An H5-series Shinkansen train was put through its paces Jan. 28, two months before the start of the first high-speed rail service in Japan’s northernmost main island. (Asahi)A computer program developed by an artificial intelligence venture under Google Inc. has defeated a professional player of go, considered the most intricate board game, for the first time, according to a study published in the British science journal Nature on Wednesday. (Kyodo)Osaka District Court skirted a constitutional judgment Thursday over a claim that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo in December 2013 violates the separation of religion and politics and the people’s right to live in peace. (Jiji Press)US fighter jets and stealth fighter jets have been deployed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, since Monday. Local residents strongly oppose their presence because of the noise. (NHK)A nonpartisan group of Japanese lawmakers is set to start working on legislation to eliminate discrimination against sexual minorities. (NHK)

The Defense Ministry’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency displayed the prototype, which was developed by a consortium of domestic companies led by Mitsubishi Heavy, at the plant in the town of Toyoyama, Aichi Prefecture.

The fighter will first undergo ground tests before making its maiden flight in mid-February or later.

The country’s first domestically made stealth fighter – 14.2 meters long, 9Ǎ meters wide and 4.5 meters high – is scheduled to fly from Nagoya airport, which is adjacent to the factory, to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force’s Gifu Air Base in Kakamigahara in neighboring Gifu Prefecture.

The agency said the development of a full-scale test model began in fiscal 20ǩ, with costs for the program totaling about ¥39.4 billion (about $331 million).

A Ǵ-year-old member of a yakuza syndicate, who was arrested in Tokyo on Wednesday over the death of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son, is believed to have previously abused the boy, police said Thursday. (Japan Times)Economic revitalization minister Akira Amari, who has been embroiled in a money-for-favors scandal, announced Thursday that he will resign. (the-japan-news.com)A prototype of the first Japan-made stealth fighter was unveiled to the media Thursday at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. factory in central Japan. (Japan Times)Visiting Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko consoled Japanese-Filipinos who experienced the Pacific War, part of World War II, at their meeting at a hotel in Manila on Thursday. (Jiji Press)The resignation of Akira Amari as economic revitalization minister over a money scandal is expected to deal a serious blow to the implementation of the Abenomics economic policy of the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Jiji Press)An H5-series Shinkansen train was put through its paces Jan. 28, two months before the start of the first high-speed rail service in Japan’s northernmost main island. (Asahi)A computer program developed by an artificial intelligence venture under Google Inc. has defeated a professional player of go, considered the most intricate board game, for the first time, according to a study published in the British science journal Nature on Wednesday. (Kyodo)Osaka District Court skirted a constitutional judgment Thursday over a claim that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo in December 2013 violates the separation of religion and politics and the people’s right to live in peace. (Jiji Press)US fighter jets and stealth fighter jets have been deployed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, since Monday. Local residents strongly oppose their presence because of the noise. (NHK)A nonpartisan group of Japanese lawmakers is set to start working on legislation to eliminate discrimination against sexual minorities. (NHK)

Amari’s departure will likely cast a shadow on the economic policy promoted by the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe later picked former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara to succeed Amari. Amari is the first minister to resign in the reshuffled third Abe Cabinet, which was inaugurated in October last year.

The opposition parties are likely to grill Abe for his responsibility for appointing Amari during a meeting of the House of Representatives Budget Committee that starts on Friday.

“This has affected Diet deliberations. As minister Akira Amari, who is supposed to play a key role to support the Abe administration but has created a drag on it, this is a situation that I truly can’t endure,” Amari said at a press conference at the Cabinet Office on Thursday evening. “The budget and key legislation must pass quickly during the current Diet session. I can’t become a factor that will hamper that.”

“Even though I was not involved, this [matter] has been brought about under my supervisory responsibility. I can’t shift the responsibility to my secretaries,” he said.

However, Amari, 66, said he will not quit as a lawmaker.

A 20-year-old member of a yakuza syndicate, who was arrested in Tokyo on Wednesday over the death of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son, is believed to have previously abused the boy, police said Thursday. (Japan Times)Economic revitalization minister Akira Amari, who has been embroiled in a money-for-favors scandal, announced Thursday that he will resign. (the-japan-news.com)A prototype of the first Japan-made stealth fighter was unveiled to the media Thursday at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. factory in central Japan. (Japan Times)Visiting Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko consoled Japanese-Filipinos who experienced the Pacific War, part of World War II, at their meeting at a hotel in Manila on Thursday. (Jiji Press)The resignation of Akira Amari as economic revitalization minister over a money scandal is expected to deal a serious blow to the implementation of the Abenomics economic policy of the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Jiji Press)An H5-series Shinkansen train was put through its paces Jan. 28, two months before the start of the first high-speed rail service in Japan’s northernmost main island. (Asahi)A computer program developed by an artificial intelligence venture under Google Inc. has defeated a professional player of go, considered the most intricate board game, for the first time, according to a study published in the British science journal Nature on Wednesday. (Kyodo)Osaka District Court skirted a constitutional judgment Thursday over a claim that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo in December 2013 violates the separation of religion and politics and the people’s right to live in peace. (Jiji Press)US fighter jets and stealth fighter jets have been deployed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, since Monday. Local residents strongly oppose their presence because of the noise. (NHK)A nonpartisan group of Japanese lawmakers is set to start working on legislation to eliminate discrimination against sexual minorities. (NHK)

The Metropolitan Police Department sent the case to prosecutors the same day.

Naoya Nagatomi, a member of a group affiliated with major yakuza syndicate Sumiyoshi-kai, was arrested Wednesday for repeatedly hitting and kicking Ayato Arai on Monday.

An ambulance was called to an apartment in Ota Ward in the early hours of Wednesday – more than a day after the incident. When it arrived, the boy was covered with bruises and was not breathing.

He was later confirmed dead at a hospital, having suffered a subdural hematoma and hemorrhage in the back of his eyes.

Police will further investigate the case on suspicion that Nagatomi caused injury resulting in death.

Nagatomi, 195 cm tall and weighing 120 kg, admitted to the charges. “I did it because I was angry that (the boy) glared at me. I struck his face many times and threw him to the ground,” police quoted him as saying.

“He jabbed a cooking knife into the floor, and kicked using heel drops. He also said ‘die,’ ” the 22-year-old mother told police.

A 20-year-old member of a yakuza syndicate, who was arrested in Tokyo on Wednesday over the death of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son, is believed to have previously abused the boy, police said Thursday. (Japan Times)Economic revitalization minister Akira Amari, who has been embroiled in a money-for-favors scandal, announced Thursday that he will resign. (the-japan-news.com)A prototype of the first Japan-made stealth fighter was unveiled to the media Thursday at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. factory in central Japan. (Japan Times)Visiting Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko consoled Japanese-Filipinos who experienced the Pacific War, part of World War II, at their meeting at a hotel in Manila on Thursday. (Jiji Press)The resignation of Akira Amari as economic revitalization minister over a money scandal is expected to deal a serious blow to the implementation of the Abenomics economic policy of the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Jiji Press)An H5-series Shinkansen train was put through its paces Jan. 28, two months before the start of the first high-speed rail service in Japan’s northernmost main island. (Asahi)A computer program developed by an artificial intelligence venture under Google Inc. has defeated a professional player of go, considered the most intricate board game, for the first time, according to a study published in the British science journal Nature on Wednesday. (Kyodo)Osaka District Court skirted a constitutional judgment Thursday over a claim that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo in December 2013 violates the separation of religion and politics and the people’s right to live in peace. (Jiji Press)US fighter jets and stealth fighter jets have been deployed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, since Monday. Local residents strongly oppose their presence because of the noise. (NHK)A nonpartisan group of Japanese lawmakers is set to start working on legislation to eliminate discrimination against sexual minorities. (NHK)

Japanese sword play is called Chanbara and it’s not only a sport, it’s an art best seen in samurai movies. Chanbara is an important part of the choreography in movies like Star Wars and Kill Bill, and a big example of Japan’s own cinematic influence on Hollywood.

A computer program developed by an artificial intelligence venture under Google Inc. has defeated a professional player of go, considered the most intricate board game, for the first time, according to a study published in the British science journal Nature on Wednesday. (Kyodo)US fighter jets and stealth fighter jets have been deployed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, since Monday. Local residents strongly oppose their presence because of the noise. (NHK)A nonpartisan group of Japanese lawmakers is set to start working on legislation to eliminate discrimination against sexual minorities. (NHK)Japan is home to a lot of martial arts, many of which John can not physically do. However, there’s one he can – SPOCHAN! It uses air swords and doesn’t require a big financial investment. Basically, that means not only will you survive a blow from a sword, you can dish them out without being arrested. (ONLY in JAPAN)More than 70 years after striking fear into the hearts of Allied pilots, a restored Zero fighter took to the skies in southern Japan on Wednesday. (rawstory.com)Toyota Motor Corp. said Jan. 27 that it sold 10.151 million vehicles in 2015, retaining its status as the world’s top-selling automaker for the fourth straight year. (Asahi)A ruling by the Fukuoka High Court acquitting a man of the rape of a teenage girl in 2012 was finalized Wednesday after prosecutors did not appeal it. (Japan Times)Following the announcement of a new album in the works, Radiohead has been confirmed as one of this year’s Summer Sonic headliners. (Japan Times)The Japan Tourism Agency is hoping to reduce traffic congestion caused by a growing number of sightseeing buses taking tourists on shopping sprees. (Japan Times)Tokyo Metropolitan police have arrested musician for engaging in illicit acts with an underage girl at an orgy in Shinjuku Ward, reports Fuji News Network. (Tokyo Reporter)